2020 Reading by the Numbers

2020 Rearview Mirror

I used to write this post on my first turn at blogging and I enjoyed taking a deep dive into my reading trends. I also like sharing favorite books from various genres that might not make it into my “Top Ten Books of the Year” post. This is always long so bear with me as […]

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Around the World by Matt Phelan: Book Review

Around the World by Matt Phelan Book Cover

This book is a taste of these three journeys and made me eager to learn more about the featured explorers. The artwork is beautifully done in a style that I (most definitely not an artist) can only describe as a cross between line drawings and watercolors. The predominant colors of each section reflect (or set?) the mood. Warm […]

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Top Ten Books of 2020

Top 10 Books of 2020

This train wreck of a year is finally ending and it’s time to post my top ten books of 2020! I revived my book blog in June so I haven’t written reviews for all of these. I’m leaving out books that I re-read and these obviously weren’t all published this year; I simply read them in 2020. Here we go […]

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Weekly Update for December 27, 2020

Welcome to my weekly update for December 27, 2020! I hope all who celebrate had a merry Christmas and everyone else had a wonderful week! We noticed these beautiful Christmas lights at the San Diego California Temple as we were driving around and had to stop for a few pictures. I received a few bookish/blogging […]

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Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber: Book Review

Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber Book Cover

2.5 Stars. I’m not really the audience for this book but I wanted a Christmas-y audiobook and it was either this standalone romance or other romances or cozy mysteries that were roughly number 52 in a series. (Yes, that’s an exaggeration but not as much as it should be.) Standalone romance it was, even though I’m not really a […]

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A Promised Land by Barack Obama: Book Review

A Promised Land by Barack Obama Book Cover

4 Stars. I miss Obama in the White House, I really do. Reading his thoughts and decision-making processes, his deliberations, his efforts to reflect many voices from many backgrounds in his policies–I just miss that stability and thoughtfulness. That said, I’ll start with my one complaint. At 703 pages (751 with the index), the […]

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Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share the “top ten books I hope Santa brings.” Well. That’s a bit difficult. My husband and I are currently living in our RV while we travel with his job so we don’t have much room for anything other than essentials. I check the vast, vast […]

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Goldie Vance by Hope Larson: Book Review

Goldie Vance by Hope Larson Book Cover

5 Stars. Oh my goodness! This is so stinking cute and smart! I was never a big mystery reader as a kid. I could never guess “whodunnit” and that irritated me. Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys were practically nonstarters for me. I wish Goldie Vance had been around back in the day because she would have turned me into a mystery reader for sure! […]

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Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy: Book Review

Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy Book Cover

Holy cow. I’ve been looking for a book with a great twist for years (since reading Shutter Island back in 2010) and been consistently disappointed. This book didn’t just twist, it corkscrewed! Repeatedly! I literally gasped at the end of each part. I am not a fan of the “Girl” or “Woman” psychological thriller craze. I gave both […]

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